Hi @jgiovann, welcome to Connect.
You'll notice that I moved your message about looking for experiences from kidney donors to this existing discussion. Click VIEW & REPLY to read through this very information thread.

Congratulations on getting through the grueling testing and evaluation process and being clear to be a donor. I will be very interested to hear about your experience with the Paired Donor Exchange System. With you surgery coming up in a few weeks, I'm sure you have many questions. Ask away. What are you most nervous about?

@jgiovann, Welcome to Mayo Connect. Congratulations on being cleared as a living kidney donor. You are already a hero for your willingness to be onsidered for living donation. I assure you that organ donors is a gift of life. My kidney transplant is from a deceased donor 10 years ago.
I have no experience with living donation, however if you go to the beginning of this discussion (oldest to newest) and start with reading the posts thru May 30, you will be able to read what the real experts have experienced. You will meet @mauraacro and @onecentwalsh who have generously shared their own experiences with the process of kidney donation. Another member that I want you to meet is @cmael, who received a kidney from her daughter.

Here is a discussion for you and your mom as you prepare and plan to pack for your surgery date. - Members with either living or deceased donors are alike in what they do to plan - Waiting for the Call: What needs to get done at home before you go
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/waiting-for-the-call-what-needs-to-get-done-at-home-before-you-go/
Let me know, anytime, how I can help you.

Congratulations! Donation is amazing enough but paired donation takes it to a whole new level.
Those tests are really something, aren't they? I almost think they were harder for me than donation.
I practically used this site as a journal, I was very wordy but received great info & hope I helped someone with their journey.
The short version of surgery day is, it went well (for both of us!). I woke up & said I was hungry which made the nurse laugh. I was taking short walks a few hours later & walked a lot more that night. It was surprisingly not painful but felt tight or like I did too many crunches. It was difficult to get out of bed so make sure they teach you how. I highly recommend high waisted or maternity leggings, they were very comfortable.
I left the hospital the day after surgery but stayed in town for almost 2 weeks, mostly because I didn't want to sit through a 5 hour flight, also because I knew I would take it easier away from home.
I was back to work at a somewhat physically active job within a month, with a 10# lifting restriction for 6 weeks.
Ask me anything! If I don't know it, someone here does or we can find the answer.
I wish you & your mom the very best!

Posted to you privately and here in case others need to read this!

So exciting that you’ll be donating in less than a month! What a beautiful gift you will be giving to someone and in turn to your mom. Way to be brave and generous.

I was very active and healthy (still am) going into surgery day. My husband and I rented an Airbnb the night before and days following surgery because we live about 2 hours away. My surgery was very early so I was admitted the night before. I said my goodbyes to my family as they wouldn’t see me before surgery, slept in my own pjs, took a shower with the cleanser that was for pre surgery. I signed some paperwork and hardly slept because I was anxious, excited, and nervous!

They woke me pretty early to get ready. I gowned up and they wheeled me to surgery. All the while, the team was caring for me….they were my team and I felt so comfortable with each of them. Every single person was so thankful and grateful for what I was doing. The surgeon had met with me the day before when I had my last bit of testing and discussed all that would happen.

The anesthesiologist was who greeted me in the surgery room. He explained exactly what was going to happen and what I needed to do and how to move to make that an easy process. I’ve had three c-sections before, so I knew how I had reacted in the past to meds…. I was out pretty quick and woke up in the recovery room (can’t remember how many hours later, maybe three). I was pretty shaky, so they gave me something to combat that. I fell asleep again and then woke up and was wheeled back to my room.

My husband, and kids were there waiting when I came back. From there I had great constant care in the transplant wing. Pain was managed well, I got walking as soon as they let me, used the catheter only as long as I had to-I wanted to get that thing out! They continuously checked my different blood work to make sure my kidney was doing what it was supposed to be doing.

I had a good nights sleep, showered, ate, breathed into the tube many times to make sure my lungs were good. I saw the surgeon and all those who were part of the donation team that morning and afternoon. I was released to go home that afternoon because I was doing so well.

The two hour drive was a little hard with bumps, I used a small pillow to hold against my incision. I am a teacher and had my surgery when I was done that spring 2018. So I didn’t need to rush back to work.

I rested a lot. A lot of naps because I got tired easy. I ate well, drank a lot of water, and walked every day. I’m a runner so it was hard not being at my activity levels those first few weeks. But really listen to what your body is telling you so that you don’t get a hernia or an infection in one of your incision sites.

I have two very small scars from the laparoscopic area and then one larger from the belly button down about four inches. They healed nicely and most days I forget about this until someone like you asks! I was an anonymous donor who started a chain of 7. My recipient is in FL and is doing well! I’m so thankful to have been a part of this journey that is blessing so many others.

Six weeks later, I was back to normal life, running and working out m. Lifting things. And sometime forgetting what I had done.

Your mom is blessed and many others will be because of the paired donation process! Please ask any other questions if I haven’t answered what you needed. Let people care for you, you deserve it. And let people care for your mom-she’ll need them as well!

Blessings and prayers as you count down the days. Stay healthy and we’ll
Penny

@rebekahinvt, I want to introduce you to @jgiovann who is scheduled for surgery to donate a kidney to a donor chain. I invite you to add your experience here. Perhaps you can relate to the nervous state that @jgiovann, is currently experiencing.

Hi there! I’m a living liver donor and I would be happy to answer questions that you may have.